What are the best copper stocks on the TSX so far this year? These five companies have seen the biggest gains year-to-date.

After a mixed performance during the first half of the year, copper prices have trended upward in Q3 and Q4.

Overall this year, the red metal’s price increase has been driven by a positive demand outlook, a weaker US dollar and speculation from investors. After breaking the $7,000-per-tonne mark in October, copper prices have been trading around that level since then.

Most experts remain cautiously optimistic about copper prices for the rest of the year, and with that in mind, it’s interesting to look at the best copper stocks of 2017. The list below was generated on December 4, 2017 using The Globe and Mail’s market data filter, and it shows the TSX-listed copper companies with the biggest share price gains year-to-date. Only stocks with market caps above $50 million are included.

Katanga Mining operates a large-scale copper-cobalt mine complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) through two joint ventures. The joint ventures are called Kamoto Copper Company and DRC Copper and Cobalt Project.

In 2015, the company suspended the processing of copper and cobalt during the construction phase of a whole ore leach project. The suspension continued through the first three quarters of 2017, and production is not expected to resume until the project is commissioned. Processing was expected to recommence in Q4 2017, but now looks set to begin again in Q1 2018.

Amerigo Resources bills itself as a long-term copper producer in Chile. The company produces copper concentrate at its MVC operation in the country, and it put out 57 million pounds of copper in 2016.

The company’s most recent news came in November, when it published its Q3 financial results, reporting $7.9 million in net income. In August, Amerigo closed a bank financing for Phase 2 of its Cauquenes expansion. The expansion will allow the company to reach estimated annual copper output of 85 to 90 million pounds.

Taseko Mines has five properties, most of which are in BC. Its chief asset is the Gibraltar mine, which it says is the second-largest open-pit copper-molybdenum mine in Canada.

In October, Taseko released its third-quarter results, announcing total earnings of $45 million and output of 35 million pounds of copper. The company’s net income was $20 million, and it said its operating costs were reduced during the period. It is expecting its profits to grow alongside the copper price.

This well-known copper stock is advancing three projects in Sub-Saharan Africa: the Platreef platinum–palladium–gold–nickel-copper discovery in South Africa’s Bushveld Complex; the Kamoa-Kakula copper project in the Central African Copperbelt in the DRC; and the Kipushi zinc-copper-silver-germanium mine, also in the Copperbelt.

Excelsior is currently developing its Gunnison copper project. It is a low-cost, in-situ recovery copper project located in Arizona’s copper porphyry belt.

The project is scheduled to begin commercial production in 2018. In September, the company was granted a state operating permit for the project. Then, in November, Excelsior received a draft operating permitfrom the Environmental Protection Agency as well as an underground injection control permit (UIC) for the Gunnison project in Arizona. The UIC permit marks the “last of three key permits required to get into production,” the company says.

Which copper stocks did you follow this year? Tell us your favorite picks in the comments below. And please let us know if you think we’ve missed a company that should be included.

The data for this article was retrieved on December 4, 2017 using The Globe and Mail’s market data filter. Only TSX-listed copper companies with market capitalizations greater than $50 million are included.

Securities Disclosure: I, Amanda Kay, currently hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

This article is updated each quarter. Please scroll the top for the most recent information.

Best Copper Stocks of 2017 on the TSX

By Priscila Barrera, October 5, 2017

After a mixed performance during the first half of the year, copper prices were on an uptrend in the third quarter.

The metal’s price increase was driven by a positive Chinese demand outlook, a weaker dollar and speculation from investors. Early in September, copper traded near the $7,000-per-tonne mark, but prices pulled back after a rally seen by many as “overhyped.”

That said, most analysts remain cautiously optimistic about copper prices for the rest of the year, and with that in mind, it’s interesting to look at which copper stocks have performed the best in 2017. The list below was generated on October 5, 2017 using The Globe and Mail’s market data filter, and it shows the TSX-listed copper companies with the biggest share price gains year-to-date. Only companies with market caps above $50 million are included.

Katanga Mining operates a large-scale copper-cobalt mine complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) through two joint ventures. The joint ventures are called Kamoto Copper Company and DRC Copper and Cobalt Project.

In 2015, the company announced the decision to suspend the processing of copper and cobalt during the construction phase of a whole ore leach project. The suspension continued through the first three quarters of 2017, and production is not expected to resume until the project is commissioned; that process is expected to commence in Q4 2017.

Ivanhoe Mines is advancing three projects in Sub-Saharan Africa: the Platreef platinum–palladium–gold–nickel-copper discovery in South Africa’s Bushveld Complex; the Kamoa-Kakula copper project in the Central African Copperbelt in the DRC; and the Kipushi zinc-copper-silver-germanium mine, also in the Copperbelt.

In July, the company released a feasibility study for the first phase of its Platreef mine. In August, Ivanhoe published its financial results and review of operations for the second quarter. In September, the company announced drill results from its Kamoa-Kakula copper discovery.

Sierra Metals is a growing polymetallic mining company with copper production from its Yauricocha mine in Peru and its Bolivar mine in Mexico.

In July, the company published production results for Q2. It also announced Q2 financial results from its subsidiary in Peru. In August, it published its consolidated results for the quarter. The same month, Sierra Metals reported a new discovery at the Cachi-Cachi zone at Yauricocha. In September, the company reported positive drill results from Bolivar; also in September, Sierra Metals increased the resource estimate for Yauricocha.

Excelsior is developing the Gunnison copper project, a low-cost in-situ recovery copper project located within the copper porphyry belt of Arizona. The project is scheduled to begin commercial production in 2018. In September, the company was granted a state operating permit for the project.

The data for this article was retrieved on October 5, 2017 using The Globe and Mail’s market data filter. Only TSX-listed copper companies with market capitalizations greater than $50 million are included.

Securities Disclosure: I, Priscila Barrera, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

That said, most analysts remain cautiously optimistic about the copper price for the rest of the year, and with that in mind, it’s interesting to look at which copper stocks performed the best in Q2.

The list below was generated using The Globe and Mail’s market data filter, and it shows the TSX-listed copper companies with the biggest share price gains from January 1 to July 12. Only companies with market caps above $50 million are included.

Katanga Mining operates a large-scale copper-cobalt mine complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo through two joint ventures. The joint ventures are called Kamoto Copper Company and DRC Copper and Cobalt Project.

In 2015, the company announced the decision to suspend the processing of copper and cobalt during the construction phase of the whole ore leach project. The suspension continued through the first two quarters of 2017, and production is not expected to resume until the project is commissioned; that process is expected to commence in Q4 2017.

Ivanhoe Mines is advancing three projects in Sub-Saharan Africa: the Platreef platinum–palladium–gold–nickel-copper discovery in South Africa’s Bushveld Complex; the Kamoa-Kakula copper project in the Central African Copperbelt in the DRC; and the Kipushi zinc-copper-silver-germanium mine, also in the Copperbelt.

During the second quarter of the year, Ivanhoe confirmed a high-grade copper discovery at Kakula West, a discovery at the Kamoa-Kakula project. In May, the company released its financial and operational results for Q1. In June, Ivanhoe filed an updated mineral resource estimate for the Kakula discovery at Kamoa-Kakula.

Amerigo Resources bills itself as a long-term copper producer in Chile. The company produces copper concentrate at its MVC operation in the country, and it put out 57 million pounds of copper in 2016. In the second quarter of the year, Amerigo reported its first-quarter production and financial results.

Nautilus Minerals is the first company to commercially explore the seafloor for massive sulfide systems, a potential source of high-grade copper, gold, zinc and silver. Nautilus is developing a production system to commercially extract these systems using existing technologies adapted from the offshore oil and gas industry, as well as the dredging and mining industries.

From April to June, the company completed three private placements of $2 million each, as part of a financing of up to $20 million approved by the company’s shareholders. Nautilus also released its Q1 financial results in May.

Excelsior is developing the Gunnison copper project, a low cost in-situ recovery copper project located within the copper porphyry belt of Arizona. The project is scheduled for commercial production in 2018. In June, Excelsior received a draft state permit for Gunnison.

The data for this article was retrieved on July 12, 2017 using The Globe and Mail’s market data filter. Only TSX-listed gold companies with market capitalizations greater than $50 million are included.

Securities Disclosure: I, Priscila Barrera, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

The metal’s price increase was driven partially by supply concerns due to longer-than-expected stoppages at two of the world’s top-producing mines. Sentiment was also buoyed by US President Donald Trump’s infrastructure spending plan, though some doubt that he will be able to successfully push his policies through Congress.

Most analysts remain cautiously optimistic about the copper price, and with that in mind, it’s interesting to look at which copper stocks performed the best in Q1. The list below was generated using The Globe and Mail’s market data filter, and shows the TSX-listed copper companies with the biggest share price gains from January 1 to April 10.

Only companies with market caps above $50 million are included. Stay tuned for our list of the top-performing TSXV-listed copper companies in Q1.

Katanga Mining operates a large-scale copper–cobalt mine complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) through two joint ventures. The joint ventures are called Kamoto Copper Company and DRC Copper and Cobalt Project.

Amerigo Resources bills itself as a long-term copper producer in Chile. The company produces copper concentrate at its MVC operation in the country, and it put out 57 million pounds of copper in 2016.

Like Katanga, so far in 2016 Amerigo has released its 2016 financial and production results. Additionally, the company’s Chilean subsidiary was able to execute a financing mandate agreement for the second phase of a planned expansion at MVC. The expansion will allow for the processing of tailings from the historic Cauquenes deposit.

Ivanhoe Mines is advancing three projects in Africa: the Platreef platinum–palladium–gold–nickel-copper discovery in South Africa’s Bushveld Complex; the Kamoa-Kakula copper project in the Central African Copperbelt in the DRC; and the Kipushi zinc-copper-silver-germanium mine, also in the Copperbelt.

Nautilus Minerals is the first company to commercially explore the seafloor for massive sulfide systems, a potential source of high-grade copper, gold, zinc and silver. Nautilus is developing a production system to commercially extract these systems using existing technologies adapted from the offshore oil and gas industry, and from the dredging and mining industries.

Hudbay is an integrated mining company that produces copper concentrate and zinc metal. With assets in North and South America, the company is focused on the discovery, production and marketing of base and precious metals. Directly and through its subsidiaries, Hudbay owns four polymetallic mines, four ore concentrators and a zinc production facility in Canada and Peru; it also has a copper project in the US.

In February, the company announced its Q4 2016 results, noting that its production of all metals increased year-over-year. At the end of March, Hudbay released an optimized mine plan for its Lalor mine in Manitoba, along with a feasibility study for its Arizona-based Rosemont project.